Soul Gifts
by megelert3
Summary: Edward and Alphonse made their way into the other side of the Gate, where a certain Ichigo Kurosaki and Rukia Kuchiki find them. The two reunited brothers are thrust into the strange, dangerous world of the Shinigami.
1. Shrimp

Yo! How are all my adoring fans doing?? JK, I probably don't have any, except for maybe unwantedstranger, who is my bestest pal!!! YAY! Well, yeah, randomness over. Hope you like this new story that I'm doing!! It is set after the movie, sort of. Well, enjoy it!!! The only pairing right now is IchigoxRukia. Also, I know this is short, but I already have the next chapter written; I just have to _type it up_!!! LOL! Wish me luck, because it's like 5 pages!!! Well, thanx, and check back soon for the next chapter!!!! Also, don't ask why I named it Soul Gifts, because I don't actually know!! YAAY!

**DISCLAIMER: **Hmm. Let's think about this: I don't own Bleach or FMA, just like Alec doesn't own a brain (inside joke- u kno, unwantedstranger!! XD). Kubo Tite and Arakawa Hiromu, respectively, own both of these. Also, this is the only disclaimer I'm doing for this story. Look back at this chapter, or my profile if you have doubts!

**BleachFMABleachFMABleachFMABleachFMA**

"Brother, are... are we dead?" whispered Alphonse, sprawling on the soft, green grass. Al looked around, and found that they were in some sort of open park. Edward was lying right beside him, his automail arm draped over his stomach. Ed turned to face his brother, blinking his dark, golden eyes with disbelief.

"Al, what are you doing here? You should have stayed—"

"I couldn't lose you again, brother! Can't you understand? Please, don't be angry."

"No, I'm glad you came. I've missed you. And it worked, didn't it? You have your body back."

"Yeah."

They smiled at each other fondly, and then turned to face the blue sky dotted with wisps of cloud. For now, they were content just lying there, carefree.

Before long, they were interrupted by another's presence. A tall, orange-haired boy walked into their range of vision. Ed noticed before Al did, and got up with a start.

"Who's there?" he demanded.

"What?!? You can see me?" the boy said, astonished, though he had been walking in clear sight. He looked at Ed and Al with apparent surprise, his frown knitting his eyebrows together.

"Why wouldn't we see you?" Al said quietly, observing the boy. Ed was doing the same beside him. He certainly was hard to miss. The odd boy was tall, almost 6 feet. His orange hair was messy, and ruffled in the breeze. He was wearing a dress, of sorts, which was completely black. The oddest part about him, however, was the large, knife-like sword that hung on his back.

"Well, um, it's kind of hard to explain. Oi, RUKIA! Come here! Hurry up, will 'ya?"

"What is it, Ichigo!? Baka, screaming for me like that," replied a rough, yet feminine voice, "I'm coming!"

"So, your name is Ichigo? And your friend coming over is Rukia? Well, since you've so carelessly told us your names, it must either mean that you're friendly, or you're planning on killing us. So, I'll trust you with our names. I'm Edward Elric, and this is my little brother Alphonse Elric."

"Huh, nice to meet ya. The name's Ichigo Kurosaki."

"Dobe! You started introductions without me!" screamed the voice that, apparently, belonged to Rukia.

"Will you stop calling me names in front them? You're embarrassing me!" Ichigo yelled back at the girl that had just walked over. She had straight, black hair, and dark blue eyes that almost seemed purple. She was wearing a white button-down top, and a gray skirt.

"Hi!" she said sweetly, "My name is Rukia Kuchiki. Nice to meet you."

"Yo, Rukia, their names are Edward and Alphonse Elric. They can see me."

"Well, baka, of course they can see you! They were looking right at you!"

"Well, I just thought I should clarify it! Sheesh!"

Edward and Alphonse looked at each other, relieved. Their finders didn't exactly seem like killers.

"So," said Rukia, suddenly serious, "You can see Ichigo? How clearly?"

"Um, well, he looks like a normal person should, if that's what you mean..." replied Alphonse. Why were they asking such strange questions?

"Ichigo, they have strange reiatsu. It's not any of the normal colors, and his-" she pointed at Ed, "-is abnormally large. I would say as big as yours, if not larger. His brother's is quite large too, though not nearly as big; possibly as large as Inoue-san's."

"What? This is serious!"

"Hold on a minute. What are you talking about? What is reiatsu, and who is Inoue-san?" Edward interrupted, confused.

"Yes, I think you owe us an explanation," Alphonse agreed.

"Sorry, but you guys are... well, interesting. I think it would be best if we took you to our friend. He'll be able to explain it better than we could, and he'd probably want to see you anyway. His name is Kisuke Uruhara. Uruhara-san will, hopefully, help you," Rukia stated. She wasn't sure what to do at that point.

"What's with the –san on the ends of names? And why did you say 'hopefully'" asked Ed. Alphonse mirrored his bewildered face, eager for answers.

"Ya know, you ask a lot of questions, _for a shrimp_," said Ichigo, sarcastically.

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING A SHRIMP THAT ESCAPES THE HUNGRY MOUTH BECAUSE OF HIS MINISCULITY???!!!???!!!???"

"Brother! That's not what he said!" Alphonse cried, trying very hard to keep a grip on Ed's collar. He succeeded in heaving him back, to the amusement of Ichigo. Rukia snuck up behind the tall boy, and kicked him forward with all the strength she could muster, knocking Ichigo over.

"Hey! What was that for!?!"

"For making fun of the height-deficient. We somewhat-shorter-than-normal people should never be underestimated! Ha!" Rukia said, putting one foot on Ichigo's back, and crossing her arms in front of her. She smiled victoriously, directing it toward Ed, who was just surprised at the scene that had unfolded. From the look of it, Ichigo was used to this kind of treatment, and Rukia was used to giving it.

Ichigo sighed from under Rukia's foot. It was going to be a very _long_, painful day.

**BleachFMABleachFMABleachFMABleachFMA**

YAAAY!!!! That's the 3rd time I said Yaay in this chapter!! Anyway, how'd you guys like it? I think it's OK. Also, please tell me if I get any Japanese terms wrong, or if the characters are acting sort of OOC, or anything. I accept flames because at least you're taking the time to actually write up a review, no matter how bad it is. Ok, yeah, sorry 'bout the rant. BYE!!!!


	2. Reiatsu

Hey guys! And... TADA! Here's the 2nd chapter that I've been writing. Well, actually, I finished writing it like a week ago, but haven't been typing it up! Don't wanna keep you waiting too long, so here it is!

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Both Ed and Al walked quietly, shoulder to shoulder, a few yards behind the still-fighting Ichigo and Rukia. Those two, the two boys both agreed, were constantly bickering about nothing. They sounded almost like an old, married couple! Ed looked toward his brother, grinning. Al recognized the mischievous glint in those golden eyes, and raised his eyebrows. Ed shifted his eyes to the two teens in front of them before turning back to his brother, and whispering in his ear. Al's eyes widened. This was going to be dangerous, but Ed had already run forward.

Ed tapped Rukia on the shoulder, because loath as he was to admit it, he couldn't reach Ichigo's for apparent height differences. She turned around, and so did Ichigo. Ed smirked.

"Hey, are you two going out, or something? You sure fight like a couple!" Ed laughed out, not noticing the death glare Rukia was giving him. It was even fiercer than the one that clouded Ichigo's face. Al, however, did notice and tried to point this out, but Edward wasn't listening.

"Brother, I... I think maybe you should stop. Please, let's just leave it, or I don't—"

He was cut off by Rukia, who had just punched Ed _hard_ in the face. Al rushed over to his brother, who was clutching his eye. It was already starting to swell up, and turned an ugly shade of purplish-brown. He looked back at Rukia, his mouth agape. This punch rivaled those of even Winry and Izumi!

"HEY! What the hell was that for?!? I was just kidding! Can't you take a joke? That hurt!" Ed screamed, yelling more profanities at Rukia.

"Humph. That's what you get for talking about me like that. I stood up for you back there, but don't expect me to go soft on you 'cuz we're both short!"

"You're just adding insult to injury! I told you I was just kidding!"

"Oi, Ed, don't talk to Rukia like that. You're just egging her on, and believe me when I say that punch wasn't the worst of it. Keep talking and you'll get a taste of Rukia's _real _power," Ichigo stated calmly. He knew Rukia had done enough for the both of them, and besides, Uruhara would be upset if Ed came back missing ALL his limbs.

On the walk there, Rukia had called Uruhara to tell him they were coming with some 'interesting' people, and he had been delighted in his annoying way.

"Yeah, you'd do well to listen to Ichigo. He's had experience with my bad side. Just be glad I didn't use my reiatsu to back that punch, or you'd have been knocked out!"

Ed grumbled a few more profanities, clutched his eye, and gave Al a remorseful look. Al gave him a sympathetic pat on his shoulder, and watched as Ed fell behind to nurse his wounds. Edward wanted to be alone. He had received a big blow to his pride. Now, there were three girls that could knock him out easy.

Al wanted to talk to Rukia about the 'reiatsu'. It seemed interesting, and he wanted to know more.

"Um, that was a good punch, Rukia."

"What, you want some too?"

"No... no thanks," Al replied quickly. _Sweatdrop_.

"Okay, then what d'ya want?" Rukia asked in a sickly-sweet, high-pitched voice. Ichigo look over, frowning, and then turned back to the road. That stupid fake-voice was sooo friggin' annoying!

"Well, you said Uruhara-san would explain it, but I would like to know right now. What is reiatsu?"

"Okay, since you asked, it is 'spirit-power'. It is basically how much energy your soul has. It also depends on your awareness of it. For example, Ichigo here was completely normal until his reiatsu awoke. If you learn to control it, it can be very powerful tool and weapon. I'll draw it out for you so you can understand it better!!" she got busy, taking a notebook and markers out of seemingly nowhere. Ichigo lowered his head so they wouldn't see his smirk. Al was in for a treat!

She finished quickly, and proudly displayed it to Al. _Sweatdrop_.

"Wow, Rukia. That's a very... um... interesting drawing," Al stuttered, not wanting to anger the girl. To tell the truth— it was disturbing. There was a small, cartoon bunny with blue floating around it. Then, there was another bunny with lots of blue around its outstretched paw.

"See, Ichigo! Al can appreciate the subtle science of REAL art!" she stuck her tongue out after saying so, then turned back to Al, "So Al, do you get it? The blue stuff is reiatsu, and in the second picture, the bunny is making it go around its paw. Now, if it punched someone, they would have to deal with the whole force of that bunny's physical and soul power. Another way to use reiatsu is to say a long spell, then release your power. This is called kidou. Shinigami are 'Death Gods' who patrol the two worlds: Seireitei and Earth. They make sure that the number of souls coming to Earth and leaving it is balanced," Rukia explained, holding up her drawing the whole time.

"Oh, I get it. It is basically your 'will to live' almost. Do you think I could learn to control my reiatsu?"

"Well, you certainly have enough reiatsu, so I guess you might be able to learn it. But there's one thing I'm curious about. Have you had any contact with a soul, or been on the brink of death?"

"I was a soul separate from my body for five years. It's a long, complicated story, and I'll only tell you if brother lets me," Al stated, his face serious.

"Of course, it's okay. You don't have to tell me. But, the fact that your soul was separate from your body explains why you have so much reiatsu. It's weird, though, that you didn't turn into a hollow... Well, you can try to control your reiatsu now. Ichigo! Come help me!" she yelled, forgetting that he was standing right next to her.

"What!?! I'm right here! And now, you want me to help you, after you kicked my damn head off?!?"

"Well, you deserved it, and besides, it's not like you have a brain in that head of yours, so—"

"BITCH!" Ichigo yelled, and then grumbled as he reluctantly walked over. The pint-sized Shinigami would always win at fights like this, so it was just easier to do what she said.

"Okay, so Al, I want you to hit Ichigo with all you've got. Don't hold back!"

"Wait a minute, helping you means letting Al punch me!?! Damn!"

"Too late, Ichi! You already volunteered!" she said smugly before turning back to Al. He readied his hand into a fist, and drew back. He gave it all the strength he had.

"Well, you can't punch, that's for sure," Ichigo said, unflinchingly, "You have potential, though. I sense some reiatsu in it, but that could just be residual."

"Hmm. Not bad, for a first try, anyway. Well, I assume that there have been some tragic incidents in your life, right?"

"Yes..."

"Okay, just remember all of those things, and put all your feelings into a punch. I think it helps to gain resolve. Don't worry about Ichigo, he'll be fine. Now, try again."

Al closed his eyes, and the memories poured in. The forbidden transmutation, Nina becoming a chimaera, Loa the snake chimaera dying by the Fuhrer's hands, everything. As he opened his eyes, they glowed with the same fire Ed always had. Ichigo stared at the teen and realized that he had found his resolve. He braced himself for the attack.

This time, it hit with a resounding thud, and Ichigo blocked the brunt of it with his own reiatsu. Nevertheless, he was still blown back a few feet, though he managed to keep his balance. Al was shocked, looking from his hands, to Ichigo, and back again. Ed, who had heard and seen the commotion, had come running. Even Rukia, generally unfazed by anything, was surprised.

"Well, looks like you've got it!" she said.

"What the hell did he do just now!?! I saw a flash of light! Al, it looked like you were doing alchemy! What did you do?!?" Ed screamed, confused. He knew that Al could have easily done that when he was just a soul attached to an armor body, but now that he was normal again, there was no way he could have.

"That was good! This one had enough reiatsu in it to knock out a lesser Shinigami, and that's saying something! I really didn't think you'd pick it up so fast," Rukia continued, ignoring Ed's question.

"I saw it, just for a moment. My reiatsu! It felt so alive!"

"I saw it too. I believe it was dark green, with shades of white and brown in it. Reiatsu colors usually signify the element you use most. I would say, if you were a Shinigami, this would mean that you would most likely use earth and wind based spells."

"What the F$ did he do??" Ed cried out, losing his already-worn-thin patience.

"You don't have to be rude, Ed! I'll explain it to you, too!"

"Then why don't you!"

"Brother! Be polite!"

"Sorry, Al. Rukia, would you please explain this to me?" Ed drawled sarcastically.

"Yes, I will, now that you asked me soo nicely. Here goes..." Rukia explained to Ed just as she had with Al, drawings and all.

"You mean like this?" Ed asked, drawing back with his left arm, and punching Ichigo in the gut. This time, Ichigo flew back at least 50 feet, and his head hit the pavement with a dull crack. Light, or more accurately, reiatsu glowed, but didn't vanish once the punch was over.

"OW! Damn, you could have given me some warning!"

"Edward! That... was... amazing! How did you... I mean how did you get it on your first try? Your reiatsu is even larger than I thought it was! And your reiatsu was, to say the least, beautiful! Golden, with specks of diamond and scarlet. I've never seen anything like this!"

"It's not that hard. I just put my mind into it," Ed shuffled his feet, embarrassed that Rukia was complimenting him so extensively.

"We need to get to Uruhara's shop as soon as possible, Rukia. This is too weird," Ichigo said, now rubbing the big bump on his head.

"Hai! Let's go."

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Well! It's a cliffie! I think... Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it. I finally typed it up! So, this was a treat! It was especially long! YAAY! If you have any ideas, or comments, or anything, please review, because I need IDEAS!!!! So, enough with my ramblings. Thanks for reading! BYE!


	3. AH! Talking cat!

Hey guys!! Sorry, it's been such a long time since I updated, but I had some horrible, gruesome, idiotic, brain-cell-killing tests to take, so, yeah... Well, I hope you like this chapter!!! So, I was wondering if any of you know what a muse is, because I've heard a lot of writers talk about one. If you could tell me, please do!!! Arigatou-gozaimasu!

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—Last Time—

_Rukia taught Al how to mold his reiatsu, which was a success on the second try. Then, Ed also molded his reiatsu, which to everyone's surprise, was even larger than Rukia had first predicted. Now, they are headed toward Uruhara Shop._

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Ichigo, Rukia, Ed, and Al all looked up at the small shop they had come up to. It was nothing special, just an old, mid-sized building with the words 'Uruhara Shoten" written on the top.

"Ah, here you all are! Come in! Come in!" said a middle-aged man in clogs and an odd, green bucket-shaped hat. He had a dark green cloak, and a fan that he held in his hands, as well as a wooden cane. He smiled from under the hat.

The group walked into the small shop. Ed and Al looked curiously at the man named Uruhara before proceeding inside. In the shop, they were herded to a 'living room' of sorts by a very large man in an apron.

"Hello! My name is Tsukabishi Tessai. I am pleased that you have joined us!!"

"Hey, Tessai, would you mind making some tea for our _delightful_ visitors?" Uruhara asked as he closed the main door behind him.

"Hai, Uruhara-sama," Tessai replied, walking into the kitchen.

"So, you are Edward and Alphonse Elric, right?"

"Yes. I'm Edward, this is my brother, Alphonse, and Rukia's been telling us about you. So, would you please explain why we are so _interesting_, as Rukia put it?"

"Rukia-chan! I am honored that you've been talking about me!"

"Stuff it, and get on with it!" Ichigo cried out, exasperated, "I left Kon in my body, and, well, let's just I don't trust him very much."

"Hai, hai. So, Edward, Alphonse, you seem to have a lot of reiatsu, as Rukia told me when she had called me. This proves to be an oddity, so I wanted to test you. If you prove to be good enough, I would like to hire you."

"I'm not sure if I want to work for you," Ed replied coolly, "But, I understand your need to test us. Rukia explained about the 'balance' between Soul's Society and Earth."

"Yes. I understand as well, so I will allow you to test us," Al said, nodding his agreement with his brother.

"Okay, I'm glad you have decided to... go along with my plan, because otherwise, I would have had to force you into it," Uruhara chuckled. "Oh, Ichigo, you and Rukia-chan can go home now. I will personally take care of my guests."

"Whatever. Let's go, Rukia."

"Ichigo! Be nice, and say bye! Ugh, you're so thickheaded."

Ichigo grumbled a 'bye' to both brothers, and then walked to the door.

"Bye, Ed-san, Al-san. We'll see you tomorrow. I expect that you'll come to our high school! Uruhara, take care of them, and make sure they get a uniform."

"Hai, Rukia-chan, don't worry! Bye!" Uruhara basically slammed the door in their faces. Outside, there was more grumbling, and then, silence.

"He probably used shunpo to go faster. So, tell me about yourselves."

Ed took the initiative to talk, "Well, there's not much. My mom died, my dad died, I joined the army, lost an arm, and that's basically my story. Al's gone through the same, and finally, we found ourselves here."

"Well, you could have at least tried to make it interesting! Hmm. I know that's only half of the story, but I'll let that slide for now. Ah, here's our tea!" Uruhara exclaimed. A small girl, maybe 10 or 11, walked into the room carrying a tray with tea and cups on it. She set it quickly on the table, and bowed. Her black hair reminded Ed of Rukia for some reason, though she seemed much more timid than said shinigami. The little girl walked back into the kitchen after Uruhara nodded to her.

"That was Ururu Tsumugiya. She is one of the helpers at my store. Help yourself! The tea is quite good!" Uruhara explained, pouring tea out for both the boys. They drank it, though Ed smelled his first.

"Oi, Kisuke, you're trying to postpone. If you won't explain, I will!" said a gruff voice from the kitchen. In came... a black cat! Ed and Al resisted the urge to spit out the tea, painfully swallowing it instead.

"Um, Uruhara-_san_, why is there a... a cat speaking to us?"

"Ah, this is my dear friend Yoruichi! Come on, Yoruichi-love, you know I'm just being polite! We don't have guests like these young men everyday, you know."

"Hai, but knowing you, you'll need my help." And with that, the cat magically turned into a woman... one not so decently clad...

Ed 'eeped' before turning away, pulling his long hair down over his face. Al just flat-out fainted.

"You probably shouldn't have done that," Uruhara said (_sweatdrop_).

"Oh, I was just having some fun!" Yoruichi replied, pulling some clothes on, "It's always fun to catch them unaware! Like that time with Ichigo!"

"Edward-san, it is okay to look now. Though, your brother seems to be out cold."

"Um, please tell me that a cat didn't just turn into a nak... okay, I'll just erase that from my memory forever," Ed shuddered.

"So, you're Edward Elric? You don't seem like much..." Yoruichi said, grinning.

"Look lady, I'm just not a pervert," Ed stated firmly, looking over at the former cat. Yoruichi was, to sum it up, stunning. She had dark, glowing skin, and long blackish-purple hair that was tied up in a ponytail. She was wearing-to Ed's relief- an orange suit. She flashed a grin again, showing a set of cat-like teeth. Her eyes, surprisingly enough, weren't much different from Ed's.

"Ho, so we have a back-talker, do we? Now, Kisuke, explain to him already, please?"

"Okay! Rukia told you the basics about Soul's Society and the Shinigami. Right now, we Shinigami are in a war with the Arrancar, a very powerful type of 'demon', if you will, and they..." So, Uruhara explained to them about the goings-on of Soul's Society, stopping every once in a while to answer some of Ed's questions or let Yoruichi speak.

"So, I understand now. Is that why you want me- to be on your side, in case you need backup?"

"Yes, we can never have too many people. Now, did Rukia say anything else?"

"Yeah, she taught Al and me about molding reiatsu."

"Okay, good. I would like for you to demonstrate."

"Do I need to punch anyone, or—"

"No, just mold it to your fist."

Edward proceeded in doing so, focusing on sending all his energy into his fist. The result was a long, golden blade around his automail with specks of ruby and silver. It solidified, not unlike the transmutation he normally used to make his automail a blade.

"Well, this is definitely interesting! You have almost perfect control of your reiatsu. It seems that Rukia was right in telling me that you have potentially the same amount of reiatsu as Ichigo. Yoruichi-love, what do you say?"

"I can work with this. We should start training, as soon as your brother wakes up and shows us his reiatsu. Do you agree, Edward-san?"

"I... guess so. I don't have much of a choice, do I?" Ed smiled, releasing the energy on his automail. At that point, Al woke up.

"Ed, there... there was a woman! AH!" Al said, pointing at Yoruichi. She simply grinned as Ed calmed his little brother down. Uruhara explained everything about the Arrancar to Al as well, and then asked him to mold his reiatsu.

"Okay, here goes." He said, and started focusing on his hand. However, the reiatsu didn't stay near his hand. Instead, it grew around him, forming the silhouette of armor around his small form. It glowed dark green, with specks of white and brown.

"It looks like you have a lot of reiatsu, too, though not as much as your brother. So, I believe we should train, but it is already late today. So, tomorrow, you both should go to Karakura High School, where Ichigo and Rukia attend. Jinta will take you to your room," Yoruichi said calmly, "Dinner will be served soon, so wash up."

A smirking red-headed boy, the same age as Ururu, cam into the room. "Hey, freeloaders, come on! Your room is this way!" Ed and Al followed, vanishing into the shop.

"Yoruichi, this is serious. Even Ichigo doesn't have this much control over his reiatsu. Edward has, maybe, the same amount of reiatsu as Zaraki Kenpachi, but when they walked in, I couldn't sense it. And the younger one, he could rival Rukia's own reiatsu. Not to mention, they mastered molding reiatsu in a day!"

"I know, Kisuke. They are powerful. With the right training, they could potentially be Substitute Shinigami."

"Hai. But first, we have to figure out the whole truth behind their lives."

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Okay! So, how was it? I am willing to take suggestions on both Ed's and Al's powers! So, any ideas you have, please tell me! Thanks for reading! Ja-ne!


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